Long Island Man Planned to Set Off Homemade Bombs in Manhattan, Authorities Say
Michael Gann, 55, of Inwood, N.Y., made the bombs last month with chemicals he bought on the internet, and then brought them to Manhattan, the authorities said. He stored some on the rooftops of adjoining residential buildings in SoHo and threw one onto the subway tracks on the Williamsburg Bridge, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
No one was harmed before the man was arrested last month, the authorities said. One of the improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.s, contained about an ounce of explosive powder, which the authorities said was about 600 times the legal limit for consumer fireworks.
Mr. Gann put 'countless lives at risk,' Jay Clayton, the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.
A grand jury indicted Mr. Gann on three counts: attempted destruction of property by means of explosives; transportation of explosive materials; and unlawful possession of destructive devices. If convicted on all counts with consecutive sentences, he could face a maximum of 40 years in prison, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Mr. Gann's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment made early Wednesday, outside business hours.
Mr. Gann ordered the explosive chemicals online in late May, along with more than 200 cardboard tubes and more than 50 feet of fuses, according to the indictment.
Around that time, the authorities said Mr. Gann conducted internet searches related to explosives and firearms, including the production of flash powder and whether he would pass a background check.
In early June, according to the indictment, Mr. Gann received the items he had ordered and made at least seven I.E.D.s, storing at least five on rooftops in SoHo.
Law enforcement officers arrested him 'on or about' June 5 near those apartment buildings, and found a seventh bomb on him. The authorities said that he lied to officers, saying he had disposed of his explosives and supplies in a dumpster.
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